


Fresh Air

by beabovidae



Category: Hakuouki
Genre: Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Late Night Conversations, Running Away, When there's no shiranui route, you gotta do what you can
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2020-07-14
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:14:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25259047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beabovidae/pseuds/beabovidae
Summary: The blue-haired demon goes for a nightly stroll with a conflicted Chizuru, stopping her from making a big mistake he's sure she’ll regret.
Relationships: Shiranui Kyo/Yukimura Chizuru
Comments: 2
Kudos: 31





	Fresh Air

The streets were quiet as the town welcomed the night. Nothing but the last scuffling footsteps of shop owners and late-night bar-hoppers retiring to the warmth of their abodes could be heard, distant crickets and the occasional blowing trees accompanying the ambience. The silvery stars twinkled against a black blanket of the cloudless sky, watching over the earth.

Despite the tranquility, Chizuru couldn’t help not reciprocating the peace. Not for as long as Shiranui Kyo was keeping her company. Her having escaped the watchful eye of the Shinsengumi men on patrol, the bluenette’s eye was caught as he saw her walking alone through the streets from a distant Izakaya rooftop. He too had taken the time to escape the too familiar, not-so-welcoming, company of his demon chieftan allies, so it was only natural for their roads to have collided.

“Relax, won’t you? I’m not gonna kidnap you,” Shiranui said.

Chizuru’s shoulders were raised so rigid she was practically a walking mannequin. “But whenever you’re around, you’re trying to take me away.”

“Whenever _Kazama_ is around. Don’t lump me with that jerk. I’m just out here doing the same as you.”

“You’re running away, too?”

He abruplty stopped, dropping his hands from behind his head. “What? That’s what you’re doing? I thought you were just getting some air or something.”

“Not quite…” It was only then that he noticed the subtle mournful look on her face. She looked back to the road she’d just trekked, her eyes following the path to where the headquarters resided behind her.

“Finally realised you’re not one of them, did you?” Shiranui sighed. “I tried to tell you. You should’ve left earlier– would’ve been a lot less painful.”

“It’s like you said,” she said as she continued on with heavy feet. “They all hate me. I’m a monster. I could never live a normal life as a human girl. My father is the cause of so much pain, and as his daughter I have no right to be treated with such kindness.”

“Gee, doesn’t take you long to get so down on yourself.” Shiranui was hesitant to follow her, but he chose to anyway. His curiosity piqued. “So where are you going, then?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t really think about it.”

“And you left just like that? You haven’t even brought anything with you.”

“I didn’t want them to see me.”

Shiranui rolled his eyes. The walk was silent for a few passing moments while he tossed some words around in his head. He’d never been in this kind of situation before. God forbid he’d let her get the idea he felt an inkling of sympathy, but then again he’d noticed a recurring pattern of the girl being embarassingly oblivious to the feelings of others. Recalling this, he didn’t feel so on edge anymore.

“I’ll give you this; I didn’t think you’d be brave enough to go out by yourself at night. There’s a lot of dangerous people, especially with this dumb war and all. I doubt the enemy’ll be kind to you if they find out about your ties with the Shinsengumi.”

“I have my kodachi. I’ve been taught a little bit on how to defend myself with it.”

“And what if you run into a Fury? Think your toy sword will help you then?”

She looked like she was stuck in a nightmare with eyes wide open. The fear of the first night she was welcomed into Kyoto by those blood-thirsty monsters still shook her to the bone. It never got any easier, no matter how many times she’d been exposed to the horrific sight during her time with the Shinsengumi. Thinking of them, how it was Okita and Saito that had come to her rescue that night, Hijikata taking her back to the Mibu Village, soon becoming her home away from home, her melancholy quickly doubled. They’d been so kind, being non-judgemental of her despite her relationship with Kodo, seeing her as their baby sister, her seeing them as a cluster of big brothers she never got to have– The weight of leaving all that behind in one night swelled heavily in her heart.

“Hey, no, don’t do that. Stop it.”

“W-What?”

“That look on your face, the waterworks. You’re making me feel like a bad guy here.”

She raised a hand to her cheek, surprised to feel them burning with droplets streaking down. She sheepishly brushed them away with the back of her hand, but only more would replace what was swept away. The embarrassment turned into stress, and stress turned into muffled sobs. Shiranui didn’t know what else to do but avert his eyes and look around, almost hoping that an awake passerby would come to his aid. Again, he’d never been in this situation before.

A fleeting gust brushed the demon’s well-worn green scarf against his arm. He caught the tip in his fingers, staring at the torn-tipped fabric before staring back at Chizuru. He huffed as he unraveled the scarf around his neck and tossed it to the crying girl’s face. He instantly felt naked, but his shoulders, not having noticed they were as tense as Chizuru’s in the first place, relaxed the more she did.

“Look,” he starts, watching her dry her tears, “if you’re this bent out of shape about it, just go back.”

“I can’t,” she breathed. “I’m not human, I’m a monster–”

“There’s a lot of different things you can call a monster. Furies are monsters, Kodo is a monster, even humans can be monsters if they’re bad enough. Calling yourself a monster means calling yourself something as bad as any of those things.” Shiranui averts his eyes again, looking straight up at the sky as he said the words that came to him. “If those Shinsengumi guys thought of you that way, you would’ve been kicked out a long time ago. It’s pretty obvious that Harada doesn’t see you that way… I think he’d also be pretty torn up about you leaving without telling him. You owe him that much, at least.”

Chizuru stood still on the gravel road. She held the green scarf close to her nostrils, relishing in the smell of nature woven into the fibres. Her eyes were transfixed on him, his hair blowing in the wind behind him like dark blue ocean waves. She’d never seen him in such a non-threatening lighting. His words touched her as she played them over in her brain, trying to make sense of something she had never thought of before. He was right.

He awkwardly cleared his throat. “And, uh… I probably shouldn’t have called you a monster back then, too. It’s probably my fault you’re out here and crying in the first place, so… yeah. Sorry.”

Chizuru shook her head. “It’s not your fault. You were sad about losing your friend, right?”

It was Shiranui’s turn to look glum. His eyes shifted from the stars to the ground, one hand rubbing the back of his neck while the other was on his hip. “Yeah. Takasugi… I guess I was pretty cut up then. Human nature, though-- What can you do?”

Chizuru finished patting down her cheeks, then took the time to fold the scarf in a neat square before holding it out in front of her.

“Keep it,” Shiranui waved her off. “It’s covered in your sadness. Wash it and give it back when I come with Kazama for his next weekly abduction attempt.” He couldn’t explain it, let alone comprehend it, but when she giggled at his comment, he felt no weight on his shoulders. It was like her voice carried everything off into the wind. He liked the feeling. He wanted to feel it again. After one dose, it was already addicting.

“I will,” she smiled.

“I’m not kidding. He’ll raid the headquarters in two days.”

“Oh. Okay.” Suddenly, she bowed at a perfect angle before him. “Thank you, Shiranui.”

“Sure… Now go on, get going.”

With a confident nod, a smile plastered on her face with a new determination lit in her eyes, she lightly jogged back the way she came, the green scarf held tightly to her chest like an irreplaceable valuable. Shiranui didn’t take his eyes off her until she finally disappeared behind a corner. Only then did he slap a hand onto his face, pinching the bridge of his nose, cringeing like he could disappear into himself.

_What the hell did I just say?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to get the dynamic going-- short but sweet! You can expect greater build-ups the more scenarios that are released :)


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